Poker Face
by cmaddict
Summary: Third in the Funny Girl series.  Can't read my, can't read my, no she can't read my poker face.


**A/N:** First off, thank you all for the very, very sweet reviews on "Boy Trouble!" That one was a blast to write, mostly inspired by my attempts to keep up with my teenage sister's social life, and I'm glad you all enjoyed it too.

Secondly, my very, very, very sincere apologies for the belatedness of this fic. I've actually started and restarted it several times in the last few months, and I've had half of it sitting on my computer since about October. My "muse" (for lack of a better term) has been preoccupied lately with some other projects, one of which is an original I've been challenged with. I finished this one just now, literally about five minutes ago, so it hasn't been beta'd. I hope you enjoy it as well. As always, let me know what you think!

**Disclaimer:** I no own.

_Poker Face_

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

Dropping her cards on the table, Rachel shot her mother an annoyed glance. "Would you stop tapping your foot already?"

"Would you go already?" Shelby retorted. "I'd like to finish this game before I'm fifty."

"I'm thinking," the girl whined. Her brow furrowed, she bent the edges of the two cards on the table in front of her up, teeth worrying the corner of her lip.

"What's to think about? I raised you twenty –" she gestured toward the chips scattered on the green felt tabletop – "so now you can fold, call, or raise." She raised her index finger, pushing her long dark hair from her forehead before turning her devilish smirk on her daughter.

Rachel huffed before sweeping a stray strand of dark hair out of her face. She frowned darkly, glancing at her cards again. The two sixes peeked up at her, daring her to make a move. Her gaze swept over to the five cards lying face up on the table – two nines, a Jack of spades, and a three of hearts. And at last, she looked up at her mother.

Shelby's face remained perfectly still, expressionless, emotionless. Her dark eyes met Rachel's. The teenager's frown deepened.

Finally Rachel sighed. "Fine." She shoved her cards in Shelby's direction. "I fold."

A huge grin split Shelby's face. Poker chips clacked together as she swept them toward her, adding them to her ever-expanding collection.

Rachel blew out a frustrated breath, her fingers ghosting over her dwindling pile of chips before she picked up the cards and began to shuffle. "You were bluffing, weren't you?" she grumbled.

Shelby grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Her jaw dropped. "You _totally_ bluffed!" She threw the cards on the table to the sound of Shelby's laugh. "I can't believe I fell for it."

"I so knew you would."

Rachel rolled her eyes and pouted at the gloat in Shelby's voice. "How the he –"

"Language, young lady."

Again, her eyes cartwheeled before returning her angry gaze to her mother. "How in the _world_ did you know that?"

Shelby smiled and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "Your tell."

"I do _not_ have a tell."

"Actually, you do."

"Do not."

Shelby shot a frown – albeit a slightly amused frown – at her daughter.

"Okay, fine." Rachel leaned forward, her elbows on the table, a challenging look in her dark eyes. "If I have a tell, what is it?"

Shelby shook her head. "Not telling you."

"Why?" The question sounded more like a whine than an inquiry.

"Because where's the fun in that?"

Rachel glared at her mother's grinning face and twinkling eyes. Fine. If that was the way she was going to play it… "I hate this game," she muttered darkly.

Shelby just laughed.

She harrumphed and picked up the cards from the table. Her deft fingers quickly shuffled the deck twice, and she shoved it across the table at Shelby. "Cut it," she growled.

Shelby's amused grin just grew as her thin fingers picked up half the cards and set them down next to the other half. Rachel snatched the bottom half of the cards from the table and swiftly dealt two cards each to her and Shelby.

Rachel glanced at her cards quickly before looking up at her mother. Shelby had picked up her cards from the table and was looking at them with an unreadable expression on her beautiful face. Rachel sighed to herself and swept her own cards into her hand.

A Queen of hearts and the ten of hearts stared back at her.

She raised her gaze to meet her mother's, who sat at the other side of the table looking at her expectantly. "Your move," Rachel said.

The corner of Shelby's mouth twitched. "Moves are in chess, hon. I think you mean that it's your turn. Or your bet. Or -"

"Whatever," Rachel interjected with a wave of her hand. "Just go."

Without even looking at her cards, Shelby picked up one of the blue chips – worth ten – next to her hand and tossed it on the table. Desperately trying to keep her face as still as stone, Rachel shoved one of her blue chips toward her mother. "Me too."

"The phrase is 'I call'," Shelby muttered.

"Blah, blah, blah. What now?"

"Burn one, turn three." At Rachel's bewildered expression, Shelby sighed. "Put the top card on the side and flip the next three over."

"Oh." Obediently Rachel complied, turning over a three of hearts, a six of hearts, and the Ace of spades. "Your _bet_."

Shelby grinned and picked up the green chip worth twenty. "Let's make this a little more interesting."

"Is that even possible?" Rachel snarked, grinning cheekily when her mother frowned. "Fine. I'll call your bet and bet ten more."

"It's 'I'll _see_ your bet and _raise_…'Oh, forget it." She tossed the chip on the table. "Raise you ten."

Rachel glanced at the cards on the table and then at her mother. That annoying smirk lurked at the corners of the older woman's mouth. Rachel frowned. No way was she going to get whipped at poker by her mother. Again.

"Fine. I _call_."

Shelby's eyebrow rose just a bit, a little surprised. With a satisfied, smug smirk, Rachel picked up the deck, put one facedown on the table, and flipped the next card over. The Queen of clubs stared her back in the face. Rachel wracked her brain, trying to remember the order Shelby had taught her. High card, one pair, two pair, three of a kind…

Again she looked up at her mother's face. Shelby was staring impassively at the cards… But wait. Was that a twitch at the corner of her mouth Rachel just saw?

But before Rachel had time to decide, Shelby was picking up some chips – two greens and a blue. Wordlessly she tossed them on the table, the noisy click-clack the chips made against each other echoing in the deathly silent living room.

Rachel could feel her mother's eyes boring into her like a drill. Taking a deep breath, she held it as she picked up matching chips, the cool clay radiating through her fingers. Her eyes locked with her mother's as she tossed them on the table.

This time, she knew she saw a ghost of a smile quirk Shelby's lips. "Turn 'em and burn 'em," Shelby instructed.

She picked up the cards and repeated her earlier action, this time revealing none other than the Ace of hearts. Rachel peeked at her own cards again, frowning. She had two Aces and two Queens. Two pair. Okay…

Once more, Shelby reached for her chips, this time picking up three green ones. Rachel's eyes widened. "A hundred?" she queried dubiously.

"Yup." Shelby grinned as she threw them to the table. "What'cha gonna do now?"

Their eyes locked once more in a staring contest, a battle of wills. Rachel watched Shelby's face, waiting for… And there it was again! This time she knew she saw a twitch, just on the left corner of her mouth. She didn't have anything. Rachel just knew it. Or at least, so she hoped.

Rachel glanced at her pile of chips and, setting her cards down on the table, shoved them to the middle. "Everything."

"You're all in?" Shelby asked, a hint of incredulity creeping into her voice.

"Yeah, that's what I meant. All in."

Shelby stared at the chips and then back at Rachel. This time, Rachel carefully schooled her features to remain as impassive as possible, refusing to give anything away. After a beat or two, Shelby shrugged and picked up matching chips. "Okay. Call." In one swift motion, she flipped over her cards, revealing the Ace of clubs and a two. "Three of a kind."

Rachel groaned and, frustrated, slammed her cards face-up on the table. "All I've got is two pair. Take the stupid chips."

Shelby didn't move. She sat there, mouth slightly opened, staring at Rachel's cards.

"Did you not hear me? You beat me."

"Honey," Shelby began, her voice a near whisper in her obvious shock, "you had a flush."

"A what?"

"A flush," Shelby repeated. She picked up Rachel's cards and shoved the two of hearts, six of hearts, and Ace of hearts toward her. "All the same suit. A flush."

Rachel looked at them for a moment, brow furrowed. "Does this mean I won?"

Shelby nodded, then shook her head. "Yeah. As much as I hate to admit it, you won."

Gleefully Rachel squealed, immediately diving headlong across the table to gather her chips into her hands. "I can't believe I actually won!"

"Yeah, yeah, neither can I." Rachel glanced up sharply at her mother. The older woman had just a hint of a smile on her face, and she knew that despite her tone, Shelby was rather proud of her.

"So what made you go all in?" Shelby asked, leaning forward, propping her elbows on the table.

Rachel looked up from organizing her chips and shrugged. "Your tell."

"What?" Shelby scoffed. "I don't have a tell."

"Yes, you do."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"So what is it?"

Smirking satisfactorily, Rachel leaned forward. "Not telling."

_Finis._


End file.
